Spyderco Native 5 Knife with 2.95" CPM SPY27 High-Performance Steel Blade and Cobalt-Blue Lightweight FRN Handle - PlainEdge - C41PCBL5

This is a fantastic knife. Beautiful utilitarian design, super light, fantastic blade, scary sharp out of the box. The back lock engages with a super satisfying SNAP! Beware though, if you want your knives to be super fidget-friendly. This knife opens one-handed with a thumb slow-roll only — not that that *isn't* fidget-friendly but that's all you get. If you want to Spydie-flick, get the very similar Sage 5 — it uses a compression lock rather than a back lock and can be Spydie-flicked with AUTHORITEH using either thumb or middle-finger. The only other difference is that the blade on this version of the Native 5 is made of Spyderco's proprietary SPY 27, which is not an option for the Sage 5, which comes with S30V.

Beautifully crafted knife. It's very light and is unnoticeable in the pocket. I bought a better quality deep carry clip from MXG Gear that leaves only the clip showing. The knife arrived incredibly sharp and, over the last few months, it has remained that way with light touch ups on a diamond honing steel.

Very well made piece by Spyderco. Blade is sharp AF, and slices paper easily out of the box. I will update review in several weeks/months when I sharpen the SPY steel for the first time. Most reports it sharpens easily and has strong edge retention. We will see. The handles are a love them or leave them kind of thing, but I love the FRN grippiness and overall texture. For me, everything about a knife has to click with my brain. How it feels in the hand. The texture of the handle. The action of it opening and closing, i.e. can I use it as a fidget spinner. This knife checks all those boxes at a reasonable price. Tolerances on the construction and action are highly refined. I always enjoy a well made stainless steel carry clip. The Native 5 is lighter than my Civivi Elementum, despite having a larger overall carry profile. SPY27 is supposed to be corrosion resistant, so I can see this being a good knife in potentially wet environments. Probably enough knife if you are the 3rd mate on a tugboat in Puget Sound, but not enough knife for a full scale survival situation, if that makes sense. Fidget spinner approved!!

I like everything about this knife, especially the steel, except the clip. I bought it to replace a Benchmade North Fork, which replaced a Benchmade Griptilian. The 154 steel of the Grip needed a lot of sharpening. The S30V of the NF is prone to chipping and the thumb studs kept catching on my pocket. My attention was drawn to the Native Lightweight by reviews of the fantastically sharpenable new steel. The texture of the handle is not as pleasing as the NF's but makes a much better tool. I'm getting used to the thumbhole method of opening and I like it. It's not as easy to open and close as an axis lock, but the the NF sometimes came open on it's own just as I was about to deploy it. Not a good thing. The only real problem is that I found the clip so tight that it was a pocket shredder even after I sanded the handle a bit, and I didn't like its shininess nor how high in the pocket the knife rode. A titanium, anodized deep pocket clip off eBay solved the problems. The steel is worth the trouble; Spyderco should offer it in other models.

I own many pocket knives. The native 5 lightweight has wonderful ergonomics. The FRN scales are highly textured. I prefer micarta or G-10 but on this knife it reduces weight and that’s what I was looking for. This is a summer shorts knife for me!:). Replaced manix 2 or Native Chief. I typically carry knives with longer blades. The SPY27 blade is great thus far. Decent to sharpen and hone. Likes to get sharp. The native 5 is a wonderful knives and I highly recommend it. I replaced the standard carry clip with an aftermarket Deep carry clip. Great improvement. It’s not a fidget knife. It’s a knife, not a toy. Smooth deployment. Solid lock up. So far it is one of my favorite edc knives.

I think I like the ergos on this knife better than the Para3 Lightweight. The Native 5 Lightweight is similar but slightly smaller the the Para3. I'd love to have this knife with a compression lock. That being said the lock back is rock solid. The CPM SPY27 blade steel hits the mark too. I cut paracord, boxes and some carpet the first day I had it. The blade still cut paper after and after a few passes on the strop it was shaving sharp again. I really like this knife a lot.

Knife is very sharp. The handle seems cheap for the cost of the knife. It feels like cheap plastic.

This little guy is tough as nails for how light it is. If you really do need a work knife that you want to beat up and get the job done this is a good choice for small blades.